Honourable Mahen Seeruttun, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security;

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1 Speech of Mrs Marjaana SALL Ambassador/Head of Delegation Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius on the occasion of the "Final Workshop of the ACP Sugar Research Programme" Monday 05 October 2015 at am Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute Réduit Honourable Mahen Seeruttun, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security; His Excellency, Chairman of the ACP group on Sugar, Assistant Secretary-General, Secretariat of the ACP Group of States, Chief Executive Officer of Mauritius Cane Industry Authority, Director of Mauritius Sugarcane Industry Research Institute (MSIRI), Members of the Coordination Unit of the ACP Sugar Research Programme, 8 th Floor, St. James Court, St. Denis Street, P.O. Box 1148, Port Louis - Mauritius Tel: (+230) Fax: (+230) delegation-mauritius@eeas.europa.eu - Website:

2 Members of the Scientific Advisory Group, Directors of Research Institutions, Participants from the scientific community, Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, Good morning, I wish, at the very outset, to thank the Coordination Unit of the ACP Sugar Research Programme and the Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute for giving me the opportunity to address you on the occasion of the final workshop of this programme. As outlined in the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, the cooperation between the ACP countries and the European Union shall support the development of scientific, technological and research infrastructures and services, including the enhancement, transfer and absorption of new technologies. This is clearly reflected in the ACP Sugar Research Programme. The overall objective of this Programme is to enhance the capability of the sugar industries in ACP countries to make the transition to and exploit the opportunities of a more open and less protected sugar market through research and innovation. Page 2 of 6

3 The Programme has financed 13 projects in the ACP countries for a total amount of 13 million euros (app. 480 million rupees). I understand that Mauritius was the biggest beneficiary of this programme. To be more precise, the Mauritius Sugarcane Industry Research Institute (MSIRI) was awarded 8 research projects out of the 13 for a total amount of 5.8 million euros (app. 230 million rupees) over five years. This is indeed a laudable achievement, which also demonstrates the recognition of the excellent track record of MSIRI. It must also be remembered that this programme was further complemented with funds from the Accompanying Measures for Sugar Protocol (AMSP) countries to support the implementation of their sugar reforms agenda. Mauritius, for instance, has benefited from some 230 million euros from the AMSP sugar budget line in the form of General Budget Support. The General Budget Support Programme was complemented with 10 th European Development Funds (EDF) to support the Government's Sugar Reform Strategy This has allowed it to embark successfully on major reforms such as centralisation of its sugar mills, production and export of refined sugar, regrouping of small planters through a dedicated programme called Field Operations Regrouping and Irrigation to ensure their competitiveness, among several others. Page 3 of 6

4 It is beyond any doubt that research and innovation are important drivers for technological progress, sustainable development, economic growth and prosperity. Research and Innovation have been placed at the heart of the EU's strategy to create growth and jobs. The EU initiative "Innovation Union" focuses Europe's efforts and its cooperation with non EU countries on the big challenges of our time: energy, food security and climate change. It uses public sector intervention to stimulate the private sector and remove bottlenecks which prevent ideas from reaching the market. In January 2014, the EU launched its latest 7-year research programme Horizon 2020 which combines all research and innovation funding in one integrated programme. Its goals are three-fold: to strengthen the EU s position in science; to strengthen industrial innovation - including investment in key technologies, greater access to capital and support for small businesses to address major social concerns, such as climate change, sustainable transport, renewable energy, food safety and security. Page 4 of 6

5 An important feature of Horizon 2020 is that it will seek to promote partnership among countries and organisations outside the EU on international cooperation on research and innovation. Clearly, the ACP Sugar Research Programme is working towards that direction. It is providing an information and communication platform to encourage knowledge sharing among the beneficiary countries. It has allowed you to develop a dedicated exchange network and promote dissemination of information which is in line with our policy on promoting international cooperation on research & innovation. Besides, it is promoting exchange of best practices in governance and management of research and innovation programmes and projects across the region. I am glad to further note that the present Sugar Research Programme has allowed you to undertake a number of research works that have contributed to strengthening the competitiveness of the Cane-Sugar commodity chains. Research works range from the development of new cane varieties, efficient use of water for sustainable production, to the use of biopesticides for pest control, to name a few. The programme Page 5 of 6

6 has also contributed in strengthening the capacities of your research centres. But, we reckon that still further research must be developed on new products and potential for by-products of sugar cane in order to offer new potential opportunities for the whole group of ACP Sugar Producing Countries. It is in this spirit that EU has committed itself to supporting a 2 nd phase of the ACP Sugar Research and Innovation Programme. I am convinced that you will take maximum benefit of this new phase to enhance the capacity of your sugar cane industries. Under this new opportunity, you should aim at developing synergies with European laboratories and with the private sector. To conclude, I would strongly encourage that the benefits of this collaboration should extend to an even larger number of countries in the form of research spill-overs. The Programme has the ambition to clearly give a boost to closer collaboration between sugar research institutes and service organizations in the different ACP countries, which hopefully will continue after its completion. I wish you a fruitful deliberation during this workshop. I thank you for your attention. Page 6 of 6